East Blue, Moss Town. Deep in Yarl Forest...
Dawn was just breaking, and the residents of Moss Town were already up and busy.
Mark stood like an iron tower before a tall, green cliff cypress.
Not quite sixteen, he had already grown to over two meters tall.
His face was bronze, his thick brows sharp and straight. Large eyes and a straight nose gave him a striking, heroic look. The muscles in his arms bulged like bundled steel cables as he gripped an enormous axe nearly as tall as he was, its massive, single-sided blade shaped like a crescent moon.
Its edge gleamed menacingly!
He wore black trousers and an orange jacket, with beads of sweat glittering on the bronze muscles of his exposed upper body.
Mark gripped the giant axe and brought it down hard.
Crack!
The green cliff cypress, as thick as an adult's waist, snapped at the blow. A happy smile crossed Mark's face.
"This tree should keep old man Gaban going for a while..."
Swinging his axe, he chopped the tree into uneven lengths as tall as a person.
Suddenly, Mark froze, staring blankly at something purple in his hand, about the size of a human head...
"Is this... a Devil Fruit?"
While cutting up the green cliff cypress, he had found it among the tree's green leaves.
His casual chats with Gaban and Daisy had taught him about some of the strange things out at sea. The purple fruit in his hand closely matched Gaban's description of a Devil Fruit, and it looked exactly like the Devil Fruits in the anime from his previous life.
But this was his first time seeing one of the sea's great treasures, leaving Mark a little dazed.
As he stared at the Devil Fruit, a somewhat shrill voice sounded behind him.
"You there, brat! Put down what's in your hand!"
Mark snapped out of his daze and looked toward the voice. A rather sleazy-looking man was jogging toward him, tall and skinny at around two and a half meters, with a knife scar across his face.
The man's gaze was fixed on the purple fruit in Mark's hand, his eyes gleaming with naked greed.
Mark gave the man a cursory glance.
Without hesitation, Mark bit into the purple fruit and swallowed. His expression instantly soured.
At the sight, the man's eyes widened in disbelief, and he screamed, "No!!!"
"You damned brat! How dare you eat something so precious? How dare you! Spit it out! Spit it out!"
Screaming hysterically, the man drew the long blade at his waist and swung it hard at Mark's head.
He intended to kill the brat before him. If he could get his hands on that Devil Fruit, he could surely sell it for a fortune.
But it was gone. Everything was gone. The brat before him had eaten it.
Madness drove that strike. Though he was no Swordmaster, his blade whistled through the air.
Slash!
A keen edge cleaved the air!
A crimson fountain erupted, and a large head tumbled to the ground.
With a heavy clang, Mark planted his bloodstained axe in the grassy earth, his face twisted in pain.
"Cough, cough... Devil Fruits really do taste awful. This flavor is just!!!"
Mark had no idea how to describe it. It tasted like dirty socks, a slop bucket, laundry detergent, stinky tofu, canned herring, and all sorts of other bizarre things.
All those flavors combined nearly made Mark sick. Now he was certain that the stuff in a toilet would taste better than this Devil Fruit, though he had never tried it...
Painfully swallowing the entire Devil Fruit, Mark let out a long breath. (Mark: what if eating just one bite gives me an incomplete ability? After all, normal people only get this one chance.)
"I've been in this world for over a decade, but this is still my first time seeing something as magical as a Devil Fruit. I wonder what ability it has..."
He kicked the bloodstained, headless remains aside and carefully examined the changes within his body.
Before he could sense any changes, however, an unfamiliar voice suddenly sounded in his ears.
Combat Bracer successfully bound. Host: Rod Mark...
A powerful surge of energy suddenly came from Mark's left wrist, traveling up his left arm and into his brain. A wave of dizziness followed.
With a thud, Mark collapsed unconscious on the ground.
Inside the Oak Craft General Store in Moss Town.
"You're awake, brat!" A somewhat aged but deep, resonant voice sounded beside Mark's ear.
Mark looked toward the voice. An aging, bald man wearing sunglasses stood beside his bed, black tattoos marking his face. Though the man wore sunglasses, Marco could still sense his concern.
"Gaban..." Mark slowly sat up in bed and rubbed his dizzy head. "What happened to me?"
Gaban put his tobacco pipe to his lips and took a slow puff before saying, "You little rascal, have you forgotten what happened in Yarl Forest?"
Yarl Forest? Mark's head was still foggy, his memories jumbled.
But after resting for a little while, his head gradually cleared, and memories suddenly flashed through his mind.
Only then did he remember what had happened deep in Yarl Forest.
He had found a Devil Fruit and eaten it, then killed someone, and then fallen unconscious. Just before passing out, he seemed to have heard a strange voice in his head...
Wait!
He suddenly felt something strange about his left wrist. Looking down, he saw a violet tattoo there, as though it were wrapped around his wrist.
The moment his gaze landed on the violet tattoo, an energy bar flashed before his eyes.
The energy bar was yellow, with a ☆ slowly floating inside it.
Why does this look so familiar...?
The unfamiliar voice from before he passed out suddenly flashed through Mark's mind: Combat Bracer successfully bound...
Wasn't that thing what triggered my transmigration? Marco thought.
His memories returned to his previous life...
Back then, he had been a fitness instructor. His daily work wasn't easy, and the pay wasn't high, but with no girlfriend or mortgage to worry about, he had enjoyed his life.
He liked playing games, especially a mobile fighting game called Oath Power.
The game had ten pieces of top-tier equipment, and the one ranked eighth was called the Combat Bracer.
It was a divine item for fighters who specialized in physical combat. It helped fighters grow quickly, granting them the ability to improve their physique by grinding monsters, and fighters loved it.
Mark had chosen the fighter class, following the path of physical combat.
To get that piece of equipment, he had spent three days and nights grinding monsters, even skipping work to play.
Finally, at the very last moment, it dropped.
A flash of golden light burst out. The special effects unique to epic divine equipment, along with the words "Combat Bracer," had made Mark so excited that his breathing nearly stopped.
"It dropped! I got it to drop!!!"
Mark shouted. His neighbors, who had been diligently practicing their riding skills and pounding against the wall in the middle of the night, were so startled that they went completely silent for a long while.
Wearing headphones, Mark had no idea. Once his excitement settled, he hurried to pick up the Combat Bracer. But just as he picked it up, he felt a tingling sensation, and his vision went black... After that, he knew nothing.
When he woke again, he had arrived in a new world, the world called One Piece.
His recollection over, Mark gazed excitedly at the flickering yellow energy bar before him.
Gaban gave him a strange look.
"Brat, did something shake you up?"
At those words, Mark pulled back his excited gaze and turned to Gaban. "I'm fine. I just realized the materials I brought aren't quite enough. I'll go get you some more!"
With that, Mark jumped out of bed, got dressed, grabbed his giant axe from the corner, and raced off toward Yarl Forest.
"That brat..." Gaban was baffled.